Is this right?
When we put our career in the hands of others who we’ve decided “know better” we often lose sight of what we want and become busy chasing other people’s goals. Learn how to trust your gut and limit the distractions when it comes to making decisions in your career.
You’re listening to Episode 72 of the Music-Preneur Mindset Podcast.
Hello! You’re listening to Episode 72: How to Know What Advice to Follow.
I’m your host, Suz – a mindset coach helping music professionals get clear on their goals and find the time to get it all done while maintaining a healthy work/life balance.
I love this time of year as things start to slow down a bit and enable us to have a moment or two to reflect and plan out our next steps. We seem to dream bigger this time of year, do you agree? It’s like a mixture of, “Ugh! I didn’t reach all my goals this year” with, “New year, new me, here I come, sky’s the limit!”
Speaking of planning and finding the time to get it all done… Dec 26-31 I’m hosting Planchella, a FREE 5-day virtual planning workshop series inside a private Facebook group. Each day will focus on a different 1-2 hour workshop with printouts and guides to help you achieve the following:
• A vision board that inspires you to reach your crystal-clear goals
• A money mindset that enables you to attract the clients/fans you desire
• A structure for managing your time to get it all done that feels in sync with your natural tendencies and daily responsibilities
• And plan for rolling out your promotions for the year, along with strategies for growing your email list
We’ll finish it all up with planning out your first quarter, with clear, specific steps to take in January. It’s GREAT to dream big, that’s where the magic is. The mistake many make are not having a PLAN in place because deep down it all just feels like a dream to them. But with a plan, it can begin to feel like your new reality.
And all of this is going down in December for FREE with support and accountability AND 31 days in January to watch the replays! Yea, I like to make things no-brainers. You can head on over to the show notes page to RSVP or go to bit.ly/planchella to let me know you’re coming! The show notes have everything you need to get the most from this episode and all other details on upcoming events and offers! Feel free to stop on by www.therockstaradvocate.com/ep72 and leave a comment or review!
Last week, as part of my two-parter season premiere, Episode 70 talked about Shiny Object Syndrome and how to rid yourself of it. Did you have a chance to listen? I received so much amazing feedback from listeners on this one and I’m so glad it was able to serve so many of you.
S.O.S. is no joke! And I know it trips so many of us up. It also plays a role in what I want to discuss today – how to know what advice to take.
With so many “experts” out there and so many music-preneurs sharing their highlight reels with us on social media, it’s easy to feel like you’re the only one without the answers. And when there are so many conflicting solutions out there, how do you know which one is the “right” one and if it’s the “right” time for you to act?
Take licensing your music as an example. Let’s say you want to learn more about licensing so you decide to research what the “experts” have to say. Here’s some of what you’ll find:
“Reach out to music supervisors directly”
“Never reach out to music supervisors, go through sync libraries”
“Pitch to people directly, build those connections”
“Don’t be unprofessional, have someone pitch on your behalf”
“DM people on social media, start the conversation!”
“Never DM, it’s spam. Go through the proper channels”
“Never release a song before you pitch it”
“Build your numbers with a song before you pitch it so they see it has a following”
What in the… well which is it???
I myself, in an effort to teach my audience a set of “best practices,” came across so much conflicting content. But after speaking directly to a number of music supervisors I realized the reason for the conflicting advice was because they’re each their own human being with their own way of doing things – some like direct emails, some will never answer you.
Some are looking for exclusive, never-released content and others are looking for a chartbanger. The same thing happened when I was starting out as a music-preneur and I started to research the best ways to email your audience.
Upsell, downsell, keep it free, segment, send to everyone, have multiple lists, use video, keep it simple… it was a never-ending potpourri of contradiction.
I’m not saying anyone’s “expert opinion” was particularly bad or wrong, but it was just that – an opinion. Every audience is going to be different and every expert is going to tell you what worked best for them and their audience.
The biggest example I see of this – CD sales. So many will tell you that they’re a thing of the past and yet so many musicians will say they’re still selling them because their audience still wants them.
This comes up at EVERY conference I speak at. I’ll be on a panel and even if the topic is streaming on Spotify, this “To CD or Not To CD” debate will come up. I find myself always interrupting the argument and saying, “HEY! Stop asking us, ask your fans!”
No two artists or music-preneurs are going to have the same situation, so why should the solutions be the same?
As I always say on this podcast, especially in Episode 48 – The Importance of Calling Your Own Shots – this is YOUR career. Sure, you need a team and you need advice, but it’s up to YOU to decide who you listen to and what you ultimately do.
At the end of the day your fans or clients should have the final say with you being the deciding vote.
Sure, we’re the teacher, but your ultimately the one sitting down taking the test. We can’t take it for you.
Two years ago I told people I was going to write my next book – The Music-Preneur Blueprint.
2020 is the year it is going to become a reality and while I haven’t decided yet if that will ultimately be the title, the focus will be on decision making because I truly believe the biggest thing that holds music-preneurs back from reaching their goals is their ability, or lack there of, to be decisive.
I hear from clients all the time, “Tell me what to do” or, “I wish someone else could make these decisions for me.”
I’ve come to realize that a lack of confidence in trusting they ultimately know what’s right and the overwhelm of so many choices, especially ones that often completely contradict the others, lead to a near-complete paralysis in decision making.
But I’ve come up with 3 tips that I hope will help you pull yourself out of the depths of indecision and move forward in your career with more confidence and more of a willingness to trust it will all work out.
First, choose 3-4 mentors to follow and block everyone else out. I spoke a bit about this in Episode 27 – Mentors, Coaches & Peers, Oh My!
Much like Shiny Object Syndrome, jumping on everyone’s bandwagon each time one of them says something interesting or with the confidence to make you feel they’ll never steer you wrong, will cause you to fall off course and before you know it you’ll be following someone else’s dream while yours slips further and further away.
Like I said, they don’t have to be wrong for them to be wrong for you. They can say something completely valid and true, but if it conflicts with what’s already starting to work for you, or even if what they say bears the same outcome as what you’re doing now but they approach it in a slightly different way, abandoning what you’re doing to go follow them will waste more time and energy.
The only time you want to abandon ship is if you’ve taken time to reflect on what you’re doing and you’ve come to realize it isn’t working for you and something else needs to happen. Remember, you want to be reflective, not reactive. Don’t ever let something someone said steer you off course if your course is working for you.
Many things can all be true and coexist together. The key is to make a decision about what feels right and true for you and commit to seeing it through until you feel it steering you wrong. In order to quell the S.O.S. of expert-following, choose 3-4 mentors – some IRL some digital – and turn to them when you’re stuck, rather than immediately searching on Google or YouTube for the answer.
If they have the career you want or if they help people like yourself get their career they want, and you trust them and vibe with them, chances are they’ve been where you’re at and have a solution or two for you to try.
No two paths are the same, but if you find someone you vibe with, the steps they followed are likely going to feel just as good to you as it did to them because you’re cut from similar cloth. So much goes into building a successful career. It’s not just about the steps – it’s also about the mindset, the support system, and the alignment of plenty of other factors that are likely beyond your control. Looking at someone’s advice in a vacuum without considering how their process melds with your personality and tendencies isn’t going to get you the answers you want.
When you commit to people you feel you can trust and relate to, you’re able to consider their advice in a larger scheme of things, with more factors taken into consideration. Trust you’ve chosen a mentor squad that gets you and the other advice out there is just more distraction you can tune out with confidence.
I will say, however, if someone is PROMISING you guaranteed results or a turn-key solution – run.
Coaching/mentoring is never about guaranteed results, as YOU are the only one who can guarantee results by doing the work.
So even if you love their puppy and you both love pumpkin spiced lattes, if they aren’t able to be transparent with you from the start, save your money and just meet them for coffee breaks at the dog park.
Another S.O.S.-related matter – knowing your goal(s) and why you’ve chosen them is a great way to gain confidence in blocking out the noise and choosing advice that’s right for you.
When you’re clear on what it is you’re specifically going after, deciding if a solution is right for you becomes more apparent. When your goals are vague and some one offers a solution it’s easy to assume it will work.
It’s like not measuring your door frame and then purchasing a couch that you love only to find out you can fit it into the room it’s intended for. Not like I’ve ever been there before, but I heard that’s similar to this…
When you know EXACTLY what measurements you’re dealing with and what the outcome needs to look like you’ll KNOW when you’ve found your match in what next steps to take. Knowing what you want also enables you to trust your gut more, which is my third tip for knowing what advice to follow. As I said, you’ve got the deciding vote in all of this.
The truth is, there’s no true blueprint. There’s no one and only way to success and everyone’s “success” destination is in a different location. You can only get so far on advice from other people. Their advice is simply a tool in your arsenal to help you build your own path.
Ultimately, YOU are the only expert on you and your career, no one else. Don’t ever lose site of that. Imposter Syndrome aka Fraud Talk may try to tell you otherwise, but no industry expert or uber-successful musician can live your life for you.
Have faith that you have everything you need right now to guide you to where you’re meant to be – whether that’s to enroll in someone’s course or hire someone to coach you or do it on your own making the mistakes you were meant to make.
If you’ve decided you’re never going to give up on reaching your goals and building the life you want, then you have the time to figure it out. Patience and perseverance, my friend!
If you’re interested in spending time learning how to listen more to your intuition and map out those big dreams this season often brings about so you can actually achieve them, come join me this Dec 26-31 at Planchella!
Head on over to the show notes page to RSVP, leave a comment about this episode, or set up a time to speak with me for FREE: www.therockstaradvocate.com/ep72.
Until next time, Rock/Star! Have a wonderful week and if you’re in the U.S. have a very happy and hearty Thanksgiving! We’re off next week but I hope to see you back here the following week in December so we can get grounded to get rising! Take care.
Key Highlights
- Details on Planchella!
- How to sort through contradicting advice
- How many people to follow
- The importance of clarity on your goals
- Trusting your gut
Links/Rocksources
- Theme music brought to you by DC-based Indie/Pop band Sub-Radio
- More podcast episodes can be found here
- You can download a copy of the episode’s transcript here
- Wanna chat??? Schedule your call here
- RSVP FOR PLANCHELLA!!!
Thanks for listening!
If you liked what you heard, help get this podcast in front of others by subscribing, rating, and leaving a review using your favorite podcast app 😉
